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The uniqueness of male nurses and what makes them more relevant in taking nursing to the next level was topic debate given a great attention on our Facebook forum and i think i should shared with us here. - Olufemi Iseyemi Folakemi

Chichi Asagwara :
I do not agree that male nurses are more relevant in taking nursing to the next level. When it says 'more relevant', a comparison is being made against the female nurses.

Firstly, nursing began as a predominantly female profession. How and when was it overtaken by the men that they (males) are seen as the more relevant sex?

Secondly, females are more commonly portrayed as having the nurturing nature, while men are common portrayed as the aggressive and competitive sex. Who should be more passionate in advancing a profession whose foundation is love and care? Your guess is as good as mine.

I agree that nursing has sustained public lashings due to the attitude of some unprofessional female nurses. Nursing has more female auxiliary nurses than males. Unprofessional conduct from these individuals (and some frustrated registered nurses with no stress management strategies) has given the profession a bad name. But that does not mean that there are no reputable female nurses with the burning zeal and vision for nursing advancement.

In conclusion, no sex is more unique than the other. Nurses, male or female, should work together to take the profession to a higher level. Females need to learn stress management strategies because we couple domestic affairs with our jobs. We need to find the balance. I can name wonderful female nurse who have made a positive difference in nursing today. We need to toe the line. Divided we surely fall. Thanks.

Danjuma Aliyu:
My take on this is that all human beings have the capacity, male or female, to be compassionate, caring, and to be nurses. Although, there is a gender norm, that women are expected to be compassionate. But when men are compassionate, people really appreciate it better and notice it. From a practical view , men also have upper body strength than... The other qualities that are needed in nursing are not unique to men: critical thinking, being a team player, assertive, role model, creative and collaborative etc
Attitude , gender role perceptions, intimate care issues, nurse shortage, retention and motivation influence the professional presence of men in nursing to a great extent.

A quantitative non-experimental descriptive study to elucidate quantitatively the gender role perceptions of male nurses using the Short-form Bem Sex Role Inventory has shown that adherence to the female gender role is an important prerequisite to caring and adoption of facets of the female gender role may not be unique to male nurses (Loughery, 2008).

Danjuma Aliyu:
Studies have also shown that men experience the process of nursing differently than women (Anthony, 2006) Studies on the effect of nurse gender on nurse and patient perceptions of nurse care by two-factor ANOVA have shown that no significant differences in actual caring exists based on nurse gender from either from the nurse or the patient perspective although male nurses exhibit lower caring behaviours (Ekstrom, 1999).

Studies also suggest that even in female- dominated occupations such as nursing, patriarchal gender relations which reflect a high valuation of all that is male and masculine, play a significant role in placing a significant number of men in administrative and elite specialty positions and male nurses employ strategies that allow them to distance themselves from female colleagues and the feminine image of nursing (Evans, 1997)

A national survey among intensive-care nurses, to establish if male nurses and female nurses can be distinguished with reference to career orientation and preference for technical departments has shown that there is an over- representation of men in technical wards and at IC/CCU units and male nurses seem to be particularly oriented towards upgrading their own professional status (Dassen et.al, 1990).

Olufemi Iseyemi Folakemi: Don't be left out in this brain storming exercise. Thanks for your educative points; @ Danjuma Aliyu.

Benjaa Osolife:
Perhaps more accurately, it should read far gentler. I cannot tell you the amount of times over the years I have heard patients talk about preferring male nurses as they seem to take that extra bit of care, especially with hygiene and transferring. I know for myself I am acutely aware of my strength and am very conscious in dealing gently with frail and elderly patients.

Far smarter.
Male nurses think clearer and faster and use critical thinking as the basis of the care they provide much better than female nurses. Female nurses compensate for this lack of smarts by using a high level of emotive energy. Disagree? Then prove me wrong and state your case.

Far fewer mistakes.
Unfortunately, one of the female nurses’ greatest strengths is also their biggest weakness. I’m talking about multitasking. Women do it, men don’t. Male nurses make far fewer medication errors than their female counterparts as they often do one thing at a time, but do it very well. Female nurses, on the other hand, think they can walk and talk at the same time. Give me a break.

Far more valuable.
In a strange sort of reverse sexism way, the small number of men in the nursing profession has worked against the women. To achieve HR parity, the ratio of males to females in clinical nurse roles and upwards through to senior management is skewed towards men...or is it simply because they are smarter?

Far more reliable.
Female nurses get pregnant, male nurses don’t. Female nurses take more time off to look after sick children, male nurses don’t. The list goes on and on.

Of course, I have no hard evidence to back any of this up. Some of what I have proposed may have a degree of tongue in cheek about it, but then again.

Chichi Asagwara:
Benjaa, I completely disagree with you on most of your points. U have not attempted to prove that men are far smarter than women so how would you expect to be proved wrong? Against what scale is that comparison made? How have you known for certain that male nurses think clearer and faster and use critical thinking than female nurses??

How many researches have male nurses published more than female nurses? I seem to read studies and surveys undertaken by women in the field all the time. Where is the study that says male nurses are smarter because they have written more research studies (or whatever comparison tool) than female nurses?

As per having fewer mistakes, how can you prove male nurses have fewer mistakes? Prove to me in a comparison against the female folks and you won't have me breathe a word of protest. We are scientific evidence backed nurses and don't rely on hearsay.

And pray tell me, how can multitasking be seen as a weakness? Multitasking makes one even employ critical thinking skills because you are thinking ahead to the several things that need to be accomplished and mentally (more often writing them down) list them to follow through. And we get the work done!

Pray tell me, in the western world where nursing is more advanced, why don't we have these oh-so-smart male nurses as Director of Nurses more than the female nurses? I base my points on facts. You have so far not supplied any.

And lastly (but not the least), how ever can the fact that female nurses get pregnant and male nurses don't, and take time off to care for the sick be a strike against them? We are NURSES after all! Lol. It's what we do! We can combine all these and still produce excellent results in the workplace. We even have to show you guys the ropes more than half of the time. Oh yeah!

Ps: I just happened to read the last bit where you mentioned not having hard evidence. Why did I even bother? Lol. You already know you can't back your claims up. EBP my 'brother'. Lol

Olufemi Iseyemi Folakemi: The females are not bringing out more of those great attributes that makes us unique nurses. At the end we will compile all so that we can begin to bring out the greatness in us. Pleases, let have more people participate.

Danjuma Aliyu: Despite there being low numbers of male nurses there is no indication that they suffer in their career and anecdotal evidence suggests that male nurses can be fast tracked.

Male nurses may be better at negotiating pay raises, as has been suggested in research on gender pay gaps in other professions. You may disagree with this but is a fact as nurses who are men tend to work more hours than nurses who are women.

It’s not longer a secret that nursing is dominated by women; as of 2010, only 5.4% of nurses were male. However, in a female-heavy dominated industry, male nurses are often not given the appreciation they deserve why, if I may ask. Although, This may not be the popular opinion of others.

Male nurses are said to provide unique character attributes to the nursing profession then the female counterparts. how? I will explain.

Chichi Asagwara:
Not given their due appreciation? This smacks of insecurity. Appreciation by who? The patients or female nurses? And how are they being under appreciated? I appreciate the male nurses I work with. In fact on Sussan Igwe's post on recommending nurses to appreciate, I did recommend a male nurse and he got a gift. So I fully appreciate my male colleagues. Doesn't mean I see them as superior to me a female nurse. Nope!

I do appreciate the unique attributes of the male folks. I have never denied that they have that. Females as well have got unique traits. My point is none is superior to the other. Each contributes his/her unique attributes to the furtherance of our profession.

Danjuma Aliyu:
It’s a common assumption that female patients want female nurses. While this may be true for some procedures or treatments, it’s surprising how many females want and appreciate a male nurse. Little old ladies seem to be smitten when a male nurse cares for them. We have all heard countless stories about how old Mrs. Jones would only take her meds for Johnathan, the night shift nurse. It is not uncommon to have patients who won’t lift a finger all day, and then miraculously have the ability to assist in turns, or even get up and walk, when a male nurse steps into the picture. The dominating presence of a man is enough to make many patients, male or female, straighten up and act right.

Generally, men have a code called “Man-power” when we need support for heavy lifting. It’s a wonder someone hasn’t tried to sue a healthcare organization for this sexist term, but we use it daily, without evening thinking of how chauvinist the words may come across. Why? Men have more muscle mass then women and, naturally, can lift things more easily than women. Simple reality: most men are physically stronger than most women.

Many female nurses don’t want to be outdone by the male counterparts. Reason being that Male nurses offer different perspectives and approaches to the practice. They present new ideas about information because their brains are wired differently than females. As nurses, we possess good amount of integrity that forces us to strive to be the best at what we do; it’s one of our most valuable assets. Since our goal is to deliver care to the best of our abilities, any challenge that helps us meet this goal is always welcome. We naturally compete with our male coworkers, as we do with each other in most clinical settings. Whether it’s a battle of the sexes, or simple hospital competition, male nurses makes better the professional than the female nurses.

This may seem stereotypical , but men tend to be less involved in gossip and cattiness. As professionals, we should all avoid this type of behavior, but we all know it exists, and it’s a daily struggle to overcome gossipy behavior. Perhaps women don’t pull men into the gossip as often, or men choose to end the game of telephone with them. After all, it’s hard for rumors and gossip to spread if there are no willing participants. This is not to state that male nurses don’t participate, it just appears that they do gossip less often and usually less dramatically than female nurses.

If you asked every male nurse if he enjoys being a nurse, chances are 99% of them will tell you: Yes. Nursing is an overall enjoyable profession, with constant opportunities for growth and change. Men and women should never be bored in nursing because there is always the ability to do something different and experience new things. As nurses, we are part of a career that can start in one place and end in another direction.

Finally, nursing is a growing profession that needs the talent and commitment of men and women in order to promote growth and innovation in healthcare. Nursing needs passionate individuals who have a desire to improve the lives of others. We need forward thinkers, movers and shakers, and a commitment to caring. We need X and Y chromosomes. We need more nurses, male and female to uplift.

Adelu Haneefah:
Thank you, Danjuma. That was wonderful.
I'll just like to state my view.
I'll agree with your conclusion, nursing needs both males and females to progress. The most important thing is the commitment of the nurses and their readiness to uplift the profession, not to mention able leaders. The profession needs fast thinkers, people with wisdom, active people, and people with passion for the profession as our leaders as well as every average nurse. Although, men are known to be more emotionally stable and with more zeal to reach their goals than women. Women and men with vision coupled with action are very important to the growth of the profession.
I believe both genders have a role to play.

Olufemi Iseyemi Folakemi Great! Adelu Haneefah , thanks.

Paul Akinwamide: Much progress has been made within Nursing profession by the joint effort of both female and male nurses, in clinical practice and agitation for equal opportunities polices, but their impact remains uneven. Female nurses continue to have greater recognition in specific aspect of care due to gender association and cultural orientation of the people, e.g feminist ideology. Not because of knowledge and skill.

At present, there are specific barriers that faces the male nurse that are not necessarily linked to the care given, yet as a result , male nurse are disadvantaged in promotional chances in the work place. Notwithstanding, the areas of been knowledgeable & bold enough to be assertive, contribute to clinical discussion at routine ward round and spotlighting the near misses and errors of other professional colleagues for example is a very is a very contentious issue that is a significant quality noticeable of male nurses. Needless to say l do this very in the interest of the patient. All nurse must continue to Speak-Out ooooooooo!

Solomon Danmori: Male nurse are a special breed. They are seen as the symbol of the success or failure of nurses in the society. Even in our hospitals it is easy for you to palpate envy from doctors when the see a successfull male nurse. It seems they rationalise for female nurses but cant do same for male nurses. Despite that we male nurse can be very assertive leading to comflict between us and our ogas at the top in nursing

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